Vitamin A deficiency (DVA) in the body mainly affects the level of visual health, which could lead to problems such as xerophthalmia and night blindness. This vitamin is necessary for the production of certain visual pigments to see the light spectrum.
In addition, this deficiency can also lead to skin problems, deterioration of the immune system, stunted growth and reproductive problems, mainly caused by poor consumption of foods rich in beta-carotene or this vitamin. The damage caused by a lack of vitamin A is reversible. treatment is based on supplementation and increased food intake.
Vitamin A deficiency can cause some problems like
Xerophthalmia is a progressive disease from which the tissue and outer surface of the dry eye thickening occurs, being a major cause of blindness. The main symptoms are a burning sensation in the eyes, making it difficult to focus on dark, dry eyes. Environments.
As the disease progresses, it can cause corneal lesions and ulcers, which can be considered small white spots on the eye, called Bitot spots, and which, if left untreated, can cause blindness.
Night blindness is a complication of xerophthalmia, where the person has difficulty concentrating on bright environments, especially when there is a bright environment by a dark one, however, people may have a completely normal view during the day.
This difficulty focusing can occur when pigment levels in retinal receptors, known as rhoopsin, decrease, affecting the eye’s ability to treat objects with light.
Lack of vitamin A can cause follicular hyperkeratosis, these are strips of keratin that block hair follicles, causing them to thicken. This blockage has how the skin falls like “hen skin”, in addition to the dry, scaly and rough texture. Hyperkeratosis in the forearms and muscles as time passes through the rest of the body.
Lack of vitamin A can lead to stunting, as it affects the development of health and the body. In addition to this DVA that can cause changes in taste and smell, food may not be treated in the same way in the senses, also causing a lack of appetite.
Vitamin A would be necessary for reproduction in both men and women, as well as for the proper development of the fetus during boarding. In addition, this deficiency of this vitamin is linked to miscarriages.
The immune system is damaged when vitamin A is lacking, because it affects T cells, which are cells that mediate the immune response, increasing the risk of bacterial, viral or parasitic infections, especially at the respiratory level.
In addition, this vitamin works in the collagen production process, so its deficit could alter the wound healing process.
The main cause of this deficiency is adequate intake of vitamin A-rich foods, such as carrots, eggs, broccoli and liver res, for example, other problems such as fibrosis, alcoholism and liver problems can also lead to a deficit.
In addition, because vitamin A is fat-soluble, a large intestinal absorption bag can be used so that this vitamin cannot be adequately absorbed, generating a deficit, this type of situation may be present in people suffering from bariatric surgery, bowel surgery, intestinal inflammation. diseases, short bowel syndrome, biliary obstruction and pancreatitis, for example.
Generally, if vitamin A deficiency is suspected in malnourished children and adults or people with predisposition factors, your doctor will evaluate any signs and symptoms present.
In addition, your doctor may request a blood test such as serum retinol, where values less than 20 mcg/dL indicate VAD and values less than 10 mcg/dL indicate severe deficiency.
Treatment is based on an increase in the consumption of foods rich in this vitamin, as well as oral supplementation, in order to reduce the risk of mortality, it is important that during treatment the individual is under the guidance of a doctor and a nutritionist, to ensure that vitamin A intake is adequate to meet the individual’s needs.
Preformed vitamin A is found only in animal foods, in storage areas such as liver or baby and human fat. A lot of this vitamin is found in the acceptance of cod liver.
Similarly, there are foods of plant origin that contain carotenoids, are precursors of vitamin A, which is mainly found in dark green vegetables and yellow and orange fruits such as carrot, spinach, orange juice, potato, among others. list of foods that contain vitamin A.
Vitamin A supplementation should be guided by a doctor or nutritionist, whose dosage will depend on the individual’s age, weight and health, thus helping to reduce morbidity and mortality from disability.
In adults, three doses of 200,000 IU are usually given. Children under 1 year of age should receive the standard dose and infants under 6 months of age should receive part of the standard dose.
In some cases, supplementation may be done with acceptance of cod liver, which also contains vitamin A, contains vitamin D, omega 3, iodine and phosphorus.